Up to seven dead in school shooting near Bangkok, student gunman kills himself

The shooting

A student opened fire on Friday morning at Debsirin Nonthaburi School, a prestigious secondary school in Bang Kruai district, Nonthaburi province, approximately 15 kilometres northwest of Bangkok. Royal Thai Police spokesperson Trairong Piwpan confirmed the shooting to the Associated Press. The gunman, identified by local media outlet Thai PBS as a secondary school student aged 14 or 15, was inside the school's computer room during the incident. Police later announced on their Facebook account that the suspect had died, and multiple sources confirmed he killed himself. A teacher was killed in the attack. The school, which had approximately 3,100 students enrolled in 2025, has been attended by prominent Thai figures including diplomats, athletes and former prime ministers.

Conflicting casualty figures

Reports of the death toll varied sharply across sources and over time. An early Reuters report, published at 04:46 UTC, stated that one teacher was killed and four people injured, including three students and one teacher. Later reports gave substantially higher figures. BBC, cited by Czech television ČT24 and Spain's LaVanguardia, reported six dead and 15 injured. Deutsche Welle reported at least seven dead and 15 injured, citing local media. Thai PBS, cited by RTBF, reported 10 to 15 injured without specifying deaths. Al Jazeera, cited by Tgcom24, reported 20 injured.

Arsit Sampantharat, permanent secretary for the Interior Ministry, told news station PPTV that the shooter was a student who remained inside the school and that deaths and injuries were reported, but did not provide specific numbers.

Witnesses and official response

A witness told reporters that students hid inside a classroom while they heard gunshots from another building, before police officers knocked on the door and cleared a way for them to leave. A student quoted by Reuters described hearing what he initially thought were firecrackers, saying many shots were fired in bursts that paused and then resumed. He said he had not at first considered it could be a weapon.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul expressed condolences to the victims.

This is really bad, it shouldn't have happened. I don't just pity the victims, but I'm sorry it happened. How can this happen in our country. That's why the government doesn't allow citizens to own firearms.

Gun ownership and previous incidents

Thailand has one of the highest rates of firearm ownership in the region, with an estimated 10 million guns in circulation, roughly one for every seven inhabitants, according to AFP. Gun laws are relatively strict, with illegal possession carrying up to 10 years in prison, yet previous political commitments to tighten legislation have not prevented recurring shootings. In February 2026, a 17-year-old stole a gun from police and opened fire at a public high school in southern Thailand, killing one person and injuring two others in a two-hour hostage situation. In 2023, a 14-year-old boy was accused of a shooting at a Bangkok shopping mall. In 2022, a former police officer armed with a pistol and a knife attacked a daycare centre in northern Thailand, killing 24 children and 12 adults.